The second episode, on mining and other far-flung industries, and on slavery and Hadrian’s villa, is aided by a structure that seems meandering but expands particularly beautifully on the theme of “people’s history”. “We can’t ignore”, says Beard in the third episode, “that all this was bought at the price of violent conquest.” In that third episode, Beard lies down on the floor to get the same view of a statue of Emperor Tiberius conquering personified Britannia as the people of Aphrodisias would have had. Britannia the character literally began as a victim of colonialism. Fine work.